I’ve found a new passion! It’s called rubber stamping and I was first introduced to this craft via the Internet. I have always loved crafts but had never heard of rubberstamping until I went online!

Who could have known that a piece of rubber glued to a wooden block could cause an addiction! It is such a big thing on the net.

Rubber stamping allows you to create one-of-a kind cards, pins, and pictures for framing. The art is endless. A great site to get started is the Rubber Stamping Resource Page by Donovan. This site has a great definitions and explanations page and it lists lots of projects, tips and techniques, and paper information.

Once you’ve experienced the basic technique, you’ll certainly want to do more. Check out Kari’s Tips and Techniques. She uses different mediums such as embossing powders, pearl ex, and gel to give cards a unique look.

To gather ideas and get your creative juices flowing, the Internet houses many users’ pages that have card galleries. Rebecca’s Card Patch has a beautiful website with many card galleries hosting Valentine’s Day, Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day, and on and on…

You’ll need to purchase stamps and supplies and there are many stamp stores online. I’ve found many stores from links on homepages. Look over:

• Kathy’s Stampin’ Pad
• RubberPage
• Marcia’s Homepage
• Gisele’s Gaze This is my own stamp page with listings of the stamp stores that I frequent.

Once you get going, you’ll want to join a swap. A swap is an exchange of cards with the same theme. Talk about creative! There are so many creative people exchanging cards around the world—all done by way of the Internet.

The way a swap works is that a host places a request on a bulletin board for users to send in 6 (or whatever number the host requests) identical cards of a particular theme- say children’s birthday cards. You’d then mail your cards to the host and you’ll receive 5 different birthday cards from folk around the world! You’ll be amazed and astonished at the creativity that exists.

My friends and family are forever commenting on the unique cards that I send to them. Having joined many swaps, I have cards for every occasion that I could not possibly have time to create. They are a special gift and cherished by all who receive them.

My favorite bulletin board for swaps and questions is the Gingerwood Bulletin Board. People will answer any questions that you post here. This bulletin board is one big family of people. Many stampers request RAK’s (random acts of kindness) here and people respond from all over.

A stamper may know of someone who is ill, and request others to send a card. Such a kind and caring way of reaching out to folk that you don’t even know. Surely, they are touched by all the cards they receive; especially handmade cards. Check it out!

Gingerwood also has an excellent website. It has all sorts of information on technique, stamp stores, and color theory. A pin gallery, card gallery, and even an origami gallery can be viewed here. Also, lots of pointers to help you in your rubberstamping adventure are found here.

One of my favorite stamp stores is Stampscapes. These stamps allow you to create an entire scene as I did in this picture I call ‘Washday’. Clouds, grasses, rocks, and other stamps are masked together to form one very unique picture.

It’s the answer if you can’t draw—like me. This site also has a gallery and a how-to section on using the stamps.

Make someone’s day and send them a personalized card. You’ll brighten a life and who knows. . . you could’ve possibly just saved one, too. Happy Stamping!